Homemade Crescent Rolls

Homemade Crescent Rolls are so much better than canned! Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or any meal. Freezer-friendly and overnight options make this recipe a keeper.

Who doesn’t love delicious, buttery crescent rolls? They range from flaky and crusty to soft and pillowy. These homemade crescent rolls fall into the latter category, with soft texture, rich buttery flavor, and a kiss of sweetness. This is my favorite recipe for crescent rolls – and I’ve tried many! The yeasty flavor really comes through. And the addition of honey in the dough is a simple touch of genius. It gives the rolls a honey-butter note – without being overpowering. They’re not complicated to make, and as long as you follow a few simple steps, they turn out perfectly every time.

Why Make Homemade Crescent Rolls?

Sure, you could buy a tube of canned refrigerated crescent rolls. But homemade crescent rolls are a thousand times better. Read the label on the can and you’ll find some strange ingredients, including palm oil (and NO butter). For all the compliments and wows at the Sunday dinner table, buttery scratch-made crescent rolls win every time. They’re made with staple pantry and refrigerated ingredients. And if it’s convenience you’re looking for, there are plenty of make-ahead options.

Make the Crescent Roll Dough

Mix together 1 1/2 cups of flour, 2 packages instant or active dry yeast, and a little fine grain salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. If you don’t have an electric mixer – no worries. These rolls can be made without a stand mixer. Whisk the mixture together and set aside temporarily.

Combine butter, milk, and honey in a small saucepan and heat on low while stirring until melted. Let the mixture cool down to 115°F to 120°F.

Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl. Mix together with your mixer’s paddle attachment, or with a big wooden spoon by hand, until the ingredients are well incorporated. Make sure to scrape down the bowl. Especially the bottom, to make sure there are no pockets of flour hiding there.

The dough is enriched with egg yolks. This gives the dough a golden hue and promotes browning. Add the egg yolks to the bowl. And mix well to combine.

Add Additional Flour

Critical point: Add in just enough additional flour to the batter to form a soft dough, about 1 cup to start. The dough should be sticky. Too much flour will make the baked rolls firm and not fluffy – as they bake they are likely to unfurl. Like most yeast dough recipes, this one has a flour range: 3 3/4 to 4 1/4 cups. You may not use all of the flour.

Knead the Crescent Roll Dough

Switch from the paddle attachment to the dough hook. (Or turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface to knead by hand.) Turn the mixer on low and knead for 6-8 minutes. The dough should be slightly lax and a little sticky. While mixing it should clean the sides of the bowl but not the bottom of the bowl. If dough sticks to the upper sides of the bowl while mixing, add just a little more flour and mix again. When you raise the dough hook from the bowl, the dough should be soft and slightly sticky. It should drape from the hook. And it should slowly, and partially ease itself back into the bowl. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl and turn over once. Then, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled. About 45 minutes.

Overnight Option

After the dough has risen, punch it down. Then cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough overnight. The next morning, turn the chilled dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape as directed.

Shaping the Crescent Rolls

Of course, if you’re looking to enjoy these rolls right away, you can immediately shape the dough after punching it down – here’s how.

Cut the dough in two pieces. Working with one piece at a time, roll a half out to a 12-inch circle. Cut the dough into 12 wedges.

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If you prefer, you can make slightly smaller rolls by cutting the dough into 16 triangles instead of 12. (I prefer the larger rolls.)

Roll the triangles up from the large end, tucking the point underneath the roll.

Freezer-Friendly Option

Immediately after shaping, freeze the rolls on parchment-lined baking sheets until firm. Transfer to a freezer bag or other freezer container. Return to the freezer and store for up to 4 weeks. To bake, allow them to rise, increasing the rise time to 2 1/2 to 3 hours and bake as directed.

If you’re not freezing the rolls, place them on parchment-lined baking sheets, cover, and let rise until doubled and puffy. About 45 minutes. Bake at 375°F for 9-11 minutes, or until the rolls are puffy, golden brown, and fragrant.

Brush the Rolls with Butter while Hot

Yum, I could eat this picture! While the crescent rolls are piping hot on the baking sheet, brush each with a little melted butter. Or a lot of melted butter -ha!

The end result? Gorgeous, puffy, buttery, yeasty, homemade crescent rolls. Pile them up on a platter and serve them for any meal. They’re excellent in the morning, split and stuffed with butter and jam. Fill them with chicken salad for lunch, or have them with a garden salad.

However, I think they are best with a . And they’d be so good with the Easter ham or Thanksgiving turkey. My husband eats them for dessert, warmed up in the oven, then stuffed with butter and drizzled with honey.

After testing and re-testing, and eating my weight in these buttery delights, I couldn’t wait to share my holy grail recipe with you. Some crescent roll recipes have flaky crusts, bordering on croissant territory. Don’t expect that from these. These are pure dinner roll heaven. Soft and pillowy, and cottony on the inside. There are many ways to enjoy these, as I’ve mentioned. But there’s nothing like the simple joy of unfurling a hot crescent roll straight from the oven and eating it as-is.

You can follow along the making of these rolls with my video tutorial below.

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Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/SprinkleBakes